Twenty20 cricket was seen as a gimmick when it emerged on the scene.
Fourteen years after it was introduced at domestic level by the ECB it has grown into the sport’s most marketable commodity.
The rapid rise was stimulated by India winning the inaugural World Cup in South Africa in September 2007.
Remarkably, that tournament was staged on the back of a mere 38 international T20s – Australia won the first of them in Auckland in February 2005 where Ricky Ponting made a 55-ball innings of 98.
India arrived at the 2007 World Cup having played just one T20 international – against the Proteas at Johannesburg in December 2006.
When the Indians won the final at the same venue against arch rival Pakistan it set off a remarkable chain events that has brought us to where we are today.
Within two months of India claiming the inaugural world championship, a rebel T20 league was up and running in the sub-continent.
The competition, the Indian Cricket League, was bankrolled by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, a television network that was keen to develop sporting content.
The ICL was contested by nine privately operated clubs – seven from India and one each in Pakistan and Bangladesh – as well as three ‘international’ teams from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and a World XI.
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The latter included Australian players Ian Harvey, Michael Kasprowicz, Matthew Elliott and Jimmy Maher.
The ICL was not sanctioned by either the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the ICC.
As such, the Indian authorities did all they could to stymie the breakaway league including banning players from international selection and striking off all venues that hosted matches from being involved with any official BBCI fixtures.
In April 2008, the BCCI launched the Indian Premier League (IPL), its own franchise-based T20 competition.
By 2009, the ICL was dissolved amid controversy including numerous players being unpaid.
The IPL soon grew into a behemoth of the sport with business people and entertainment figures falling over each other in a bid to form their own franchises.
Many thought the IPL would run out of steam after a barnstorming success in its nascent years.
Reality has proven otherwise.
Nowadays, the IPL, which runs during April-May, is one of the world’s most successful leagues of any sport.
The current TV rights deal, signed in September 2007 by Star India (a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox) is for $3.2bn over ten years, an increase of 158 per cent on the previous deal.
The brand value of the IPL is estimated to be worth US$5.3bn.
(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Individual players are regularly signed for seven-figure sums for around seven weeks’ work.
Mitchell Starc was recently snapped up by the Kolkata Night Riders for $1.8m.
If he bowls his maximum four overs in each game his teams plays, he will earn $5300 per delivery.
A decade ago, such money would have been incomprehensible in the sport of cricket.
The T20 explosion has effectively been World Series Cricket 2.0 with respect to the way it has changed the remuneration landscape for the game’s leading players.
Steve Smith earns around $1.5m per annum from his CA contract.
His seven-week IPL contract with the Hyderabad Sunrisers is worth $2.4m.
Virat Kohli’s IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore is $3.4m.
In Australia, the BBL has proved to be enormous hit.
This summer, 1.14m fans went through the turnstiles at an average of 26,531 per game.
That figure is down on last season’s average of 30,114 some of which could be put down to games being taken to smaller capacity venues in regional centres – only 3,900 attended the Strikers Scorchers game in Alice Springs – and the lacklustre showing of the Stars (two wins from its ten games), who drew significantly smaller crowds to the MCG.
There has been an explosion in female participation rates in the past three years since the introduction of the WBBL and its presence on our TV screens, an unforeseen event when the current rights deal was struck.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
CA’s financial health is predicated on summers that involve tours by England and India.
It hordes cash at those times to make up for the two lean international summers in between in each four-year cycle.
The BBL, on the other hand, is a regular earner for them.
CA will receive a significant fillip to its coffers with respect to the soon to be signed TV broadcasting deals.
Network Ten snapped up a bargain when it secured a five-year deal for $100m in 2013.
It is envisaged that the next deal could produce between two and three times that amount while analysts predict that the rights for Tests and ODIs will remain around the current $80m per annum mark.
The next issue for CA is where the BBL heads from here.
This season saw an expansion to 43 matches, up from 35.
Further growth is on the cards with TV networks presented with the likelihood of an additional 16 games next season and possibly even more subsequent to that.
CA already has had approaches from Canberra, Geelong, Townsville and Fremantle which are all keen to have a share of the action.
Presently, CA is wary of taking that path having witnessed similar growth moves in the A-League, NBL and Super Rugby creating crises within those codes.
One of the big pluses of the BBL is the fact it is contained neatly during the summer school holiday period where access to the future generations is guaranteed.
Venturing outside that, especially if the finals went deeper into the New Year would diminish its pulling power.
There is ongoing debate over the relevance of international T20s.
The first encounter of the Trans-Tasman tri-series between Australia and New Zealand at the SCG on Saturday drew 25,261.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
The five home games at the SCG for the Sydney Sixers in the BBL this season averaged 24,815 which does not say a lot for the interest in the national side at this level.
By comparison, the Strikers averaged 40,480 at the Adelaide Oval; the Heat 32,980 at the Gabba; the Stars 31,628 at the MCG; and the Renegades 32,564 at Etihad Stadium.
In the recently released Future Tours Program for 2019-2023, the ICC increased the number of T20 internationals while ODIs have been cut back and Tests have also been reduced.
Like many, I think T20s should be limited to domestic competitions with a World Cup to be played every few years.
There appears to be little need for international matches given the increasing saturation of T20 games in the various leagues now dotted around the globe.
The most abbreviated form of the game – although recently T10 matches have raised their head – has brought tens of thousands of new fans to the sport and, in the process, bolstered the coffers of several ailing cricket boards.
The last thing the sport needs is to kill the golden goose.
Eradicating internationals, outside World Cups, would be a good starting point.
Bakkies
Guest
When you sell your rights solely to FTA you have to take the hit. The ACB also created the franchises without private investment so it has come out of central purse.
Bakkies
Guest
ECB sending games around the counties has pushed them to financial difficulties due to upgrading the grounds. Other sports stopped playing at these grounds almost a century ago do they aren't getting money from various governments for upgrades. Australia has an advantage due to AFL being played on the grounds.
David
Guest
I have said before, I don't see the point of T20 internationals outside of the World Cup. However, after reading the comments here, I am further convinced that CA execs have personal, short term agendas. Ticket prices are ridiculous, merchandise is nothing short of a rip off and they are going to expand a tournament (BBL) that is already too long - all for the sake of money in their pockets. Let's fast forward 10 years. Our CA execs will have a summer long BBL competition with 16 or 18 teams. T20 Cricket on television every night from October to April? They will be making a fortune and shield and test cricket will die. Cricket would lose me and I suspect many others, well before this happens.
Doctor Rotcod
Guest
I completely agree. The T20 games are like long-form, but condensed. Dot balls instead of maidens, boundaries off moderately bad balls,risky singles every over. Dropped catches ,sure, but there was a Renegades match where they couldn't drop anything and stunning boundary fielding and run-outs,Archer and Johnson spring to mind. While it's true that some batsmen tend to close their stance for the T20 and risk LBWs and bowleds in the longer forms, some thrive when they go back to the Shield. Jake Lehmann did well today. Bowlers stay stingy.If they know that a single bad over rather than a session can cost the game then that approach pays dividends. You only have to look at Richardson and Kelly. 34.2 overs for 64 runs between them with 10 maidens . But then the other side of the coin is shown by Cam Bancroft- a good example of a player who blossomed at the end of the BBL despite hardly being able to hit the ball off the square at the end of the Tests You'd have to say that a good BBL bowler will be a good Shield bowler, if his captain uses him well, However someone like Mitch Marsh obviously likes the Duke.He might go well for Surrey this northern summer. And the debut of Alex Bevilaqua at 207 cm makes him the tallest player in the Shield,sorry Billy .
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Sadly, catching, one of the parts of the game that requires the same skill set as longer formats, was the most disappointing part of this year's BBL. The last time so many simple catches were spilled, Phil Tufnell was being put through some fielding drills.
JamesH
Roar Guru
'T20... offers little in the way of skill.' You have got to be joking. Some of the skill shown by good T20 players is incredible. It's simply a different skillset to those for tests and ODIs.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Their aim must eventually be to make money or break even. What do they do to achieve that? Sell rights to Foxtel or other streaming services? Get more rights money from the commercial networks which results in more tedious advertising? Charge more for tickets? Pay the players less? Provide more of a window for the Test/ players to be available and hence attract bigger crowds?
Peter
Roar Rookie
I have problems with relegating half of the Shield to the end of season. I don't know how to resolve it but in the long term this could damage our test prospects. Someone like Renshaw, as he doesn't play much BBL, will find it increasingly difficult to press for selection. One solution may be to try and get more games, say 7, completed before selection for the first Test, and then have 3 in February.
Basil
Guest
I have to agree Perry. I thought the early days when it was a state-based comp it really started to engage people toward the state teams, so much so that people here in SA were then starting to take more notice of the Redbacks in the others formats too. It was a great form of promotion based and brand identity.
AREH
Roar Guru
If they bring more BBL games to the table next season, even after this season felt a little stale and drawn out already, they risk doing a lot of damage to it. Surely with crowds and attendance numbers (only slightly) down this season, it would make much more sense to take a cautious approach into next season and see if that is more of an outlier, or these trends continue. I feel it is already being shoved down the throat of fans at present, and extending the tournament by 10 or so matches could really harm the interest levels.
spruce moose
Guest
Ah. Yes, we reap what we sow I suppose.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
cricket is a game that needs time to develop context to create atmosphere and that's what you get in ODI and Tests. T20 is the bastard child and offers little in the way of skill. Excitement is limited with all the BBL crap thrown at us all summer, delivering for the most part the same product every second night.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Yeah that's a good point, they could be playing this series in a more condensed format; Friday, Sunday, Tuesday. Fly to NZ and then go Friday, Sunday, Tuesday with the Final the last Friday.
The Bush
Roar Guru
I agree with you, that's why I raised the point. You can't tell me we're taking it seriously when we put microphones in the players ears.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Perhaps it was aided by the success of the Vic Bushrangers in the then 'KFC Twenty20 Big Bash' - but getting on early days because of the convenience with young kids - seeing the Vics players performing on the 'G and getting decent crowds by any standards - for state games - it was brilliant. I still recall in 2009/10 the 43k in at the 'G to see the Vics steamroll Tassie with Hodgey 90* off 56. How good was that - I feel that more than anything proved they were onto a winning product. I was a little dismayed with the 'franchise' style city based teams for the BBL. And seeing Siddle playing for Adelaide just doesn't seem right - but so bit it. The T20 notion allows for a quicker, more condensed tournament format. There's no great reason that the current T20I tri-series needs to run over as many days as it is - there should be a game every 2 days.
Simon
Guest
That’s my point. The Sydney public rejected paying $115 for tickets after a long summer, and good on them for doing so. You try charging that for a BBL game and you wouldn’t get 5k there
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
Only 25k at the game. A long way short of capacity...
JamesH
Roar Guru
That's insane. For $50 I was sitting just below where this pic was taken, had a great view: http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/5980484-3x2-940x627.jpg While we're at it, CA needs to start BBL and T20I matches earlier in the evening. This game didn't start til 7:45 and finished at 11. It was about midnight by the time I got to bed, on a Wednesday night. I saw a couple of parents near us leave early to take their kids home.
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
Other sports are wary of expansion because there isn't a large fan base in the new markets - think Adelaide Rams, Western Force, Gold Coast Suns. The few success stories, like the Swans, take many years and plenty of dollars to work. Cricket, however, is our only truly national premier sport (apart from netball). We all love it. Expanding the BBL into larger regional centres like Newcastle, Townsville etc should be easier. I assume that's why they linked the original franchises to cities rather than states/regions.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Lol when you're more expensive than Viagogo, you're doing something wrong!